James and Simone

Seeking Structure

Overview

James and Simone approached APC in 2020, both in their early 30s. Life was demanding, with two young children aged 5 and 3 and both working full time. They were renting and hoping to purchase a home within two years.

James and Simone came to APC unsure about their ability to meet their important goal of buying a home while also making sure that the rest of their financial house was in order and working hard for them. They felt out of control and disorganised when it came to their money, despite being high-income earners .
Some of their other concerns and priorities were explained to us as follows:

  • As well as buying a home, we want to make sure we’re also building wealth for the long term. Can we do both?
  • We think we will ultimately have extra cash flow. Where is the best place to put that?
  • Down the track, we’d like to understand what it would mean, financially, if we were to move to a country town (by 2030)
  • We would love to be able to assist our kids to get into the property market when the time comes
  • Retirement is a long way away, but it would be great to understand if we are somewhat on track
  • We established and documented a comprehensive financial plan.
  • At the foundation was strong cash flow management and separated bank accounts allowing them to more effectively allocate to the deposit for a new home and reach their objective faster
  • Multiple long-term projections illustrated what different courses of action meant. This helped them understand the trade-offs, what was viable and what was not.
  • Their superannuation was reallocated to lower-cost options that better suited their long-term growth goals
  • Wealth protection strategies were implemented through appropriate levels of personal insurance
  • A clear plan was set for the allocation of their incomes
  • Later commenced a ‘debt recycling’ strategy – converting ‘bad debt’ for ‘good debt’ and establishing a long-term investment portfolio
  • Met with them ongoing at 6 monthly intervals – keeping them accountable to agreed activities – whilst keeping an eye on cash flow and the long run
  • Home purchased as planned in 2022 with comfort that the debt would be manageable and allow them to maintain their lifestyle and do other things that were important to them
  • James and Simone felt that they could prioritise investment and wealth creation at the same time as their home purchase
  • Their superannuation was working harder for their future
  • They had peace of mind that with discipline and consistency, they would be able to support their retirement and plans to assist their children
  • What they were working hard to build was protected as best as possible
  • All the pieces of their financial pie were in order and they could worry less knowing we’d check in at 6 monthly intervals to keep them on track and accountable
  • Comfort that as life inevitably changed, their plan would too